Alive Inside

Following the work of social worker Dan Cohen, Alive Inside reveals how music can awaken memories and emotions that have been asleep for years, sometimes decades.

In an effort to bring music to the lives of nursing home residents, Dan Cohen visits John, a quiet Army vet who served at Los Alamos, who perks up at the sound of the Andrews Sisters. Denise, a Schubert fan, pushes away the walking frame she’s been using every day for two years and begins to dance. Inert and depressed, the Cab Calloway-loving Henry is fully rejuvenated, swaying his arms and crooning in perfect pitch. Demonstrating how connecting the elderly to the music they love not only combats memory loss but also supplements a broken health care system often indifferent to interpersonal connections, Alive Inside is moving, inspiring, and worthy of attention.